


Salazar's Foray From Grave to Cradle

by ironchanchellor



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-06-26 00:42:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19757080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ironchanchellor/pseuds/ironchanchellor
Summary: Having seen the passing of three centuries, the aged founder Slytherin house finally nears death. He, however, dearly wished to see more, to hear more, to live more. So, he chose to do so, and ended up not quite where he expected to be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work of published fanfiction, and I'm still learning the ropes on many of the options available to me on AO3. I would appreciate feedback, comments, or even help on how to work the AO3 system, like how do work skins work?
> 
> As for the story, hope you enjoy it. It might not get finished, however, as I am writing this to distract myself from a particularly boring summer vacation, but I will do my best to carry it out to terms.

Illuminated by the soft green light of fires, a man worked tirelessly on what will most likely be his last great accomplishment. Looking closer at the man, one can immediately notice the layers upon layers of wrinkles marring his face and limbs, the few, pale white hair that still stubbornly cling on his cranium, the slight huff of exhaustion at every motion. And yet, despite all these signs of the venerable age of the man, one could also hardly miss his eye; a harsh grey pupil containing a frightening intelligence that seemed at odds with the rest of his decrepit appearance. On his right hand, he held a small empty glass vial, while with his left hand, he stirred a Tyre purple potion with an iron spoon. Close by, a letter, carefully written, carefully worded, carefully folded, sits in an envelope. And on the envelope was a wax seal, carrying the basilisk sigil of Slytherin, gives a hint towards the identity of the man. His full name, as it was known among most of Europe, was Salazar Slytherin.

He tried to fill the vial carefully with the violet concoction, but the uncontrollable shaking of his hand forced him to stop. Slightly aggravated, he took the iron spoon out and hung it on the side of the table and deposed the empty vial. Then, he took out a small drinking pouch from his large sleeves, and with trembling hands, pulled it up to his mouth and took a sip. Instantly, his hands stilled, and his breathing evened out. He even seemed to stand with less of a hunch. Satisfied, he returned the pouch into his vast sleeves and unhung the spoon. With his steadied hands, he then poured the precious purple potion into his glass vial. He then closed the vial with a small cork piece before carefully slip it into his right sleeve. Not a moment too soon either, as the second the vial was secured, a slight shaking returns to his hand. Salazar sighs. Even with his exceptional skills in potions, he could not defy the decrepitation of age upon his body. It was soon going to be his time, and like all the other times Salazar’s thought about his death, he felt that it was too soon.

With labored breath, he walks across the room, past an elaborate ritual circle drawn on the ground. In the ritual circle, slightly off-centre, stood a lone long ghostly white bone. It looks like a slightly curved tibia but is far too long to have come from any human. Not from any larger creature either, as the bone looks too thin and frail to support their body. With this, one could conclude that the bone came from an unnatural creation, and one would be right.

It was the bone of a dementor.

It had taken Salazar considerable efforts to capture and starve this dementor to a single bone, and it took even more of that in influence to cover up the fact that he was experimenting with these inherently vile creatures from prying and curious eyes. However, the dementor’s inherent ability to suck, bind and consume souls made it absolutely necessary for Salazar’s current research: a search for immortality.

Now, the astute would quite correctly remark that there was already an easy path to immortality: Horcruxes. And it would certainly be a valid option for Salazar. Had he been more morally flexible, he would have most likely gone for Horcruxes. However, as he was now, he found the price too steep. Better to die a man, he told himself, then to live on without his humanity.

“What is Salazar doing then?” The curious might then ask. The answer is complex and took Salazar decades to perfect, but it is fundamentally a delve into the concept of reincarnation. After all, Salazar thought, so long as the conscious mind remains, it was effectively immortality. It was, however, a path with many downsides. For starters, reincarnation required the person to die first, a sharp break in consciousness which kind of defeats the purpose of immortality. There has also never been a case of a reincarnated person in the world. At least, never a reincarnated person that could remember even a snip his past life. Such objections were brought up by the old man’s family and closest apprentices, and they were indeed very valid concerns.

Salazar made his way to the tables on the opposite side of the room. On the table were stack upon stack of paper scrolls, parchments and even a few rare papyrus sheets, holding the answer to all the questionings of his closest. With his wand in hand, he summons one of the parchments to him. Turning around, he sat down in his small couch. Then, he reached into his sleeves and took out a small scope and began to read. He was going over his plans, for another time. And he will stay in the seat, summoning scrolls after scrolls to go over the theory behind the magic. To answer the worries of his closest peoples, he had taken every precaution. The Tyre purple potion he just brewed would not only kill him but will cleanly separate body and soul, somewhat like the killing curse. The ritual circle, formed by many lines of complex calligraphy in the eastern style, form the basis for the reincarnation of the soul and retention of the mind, using his formidable occlumency and intimate knowledge in soul-magic as a basis. Finally, the central piece of the circle was the dementor’s bone, whose natural ability to bind souls to it will allow it to serve as a temporary soul anchor. Of course, there is also the risk that the dementor’s bone will consume his soul. Then, his death would have served as nothing but the first fine meal of a newly born dementor. A grave risk, for sure, but not one that bothered him that much, since, well, he would be dead anyway.

And on the flip-side, well, if it worked... Salazar thoughts drifted. If it worked, then his temporary death would mark the beginning of eternal life and set a tremendous landmark in the history of magic. A perfect reincarnation would make Horcruxes and its defilement of the soul seem like scorpion venom in comparison. With immortality on his side, he would have infinite time to delve into the mysteries of magic and guide peoples and nations. Undoubtedly, with endless time on his side, he would eventually reach what could only be described as godhood, so far beyond the capacity and understanding of the mortals…

With a shudder, Salazar shut down on these runaway thoughts of divinity. It was dangerous, letting his mind wander down that path. He was not blind, he had seen countless horrors committed by men that by most accounts are his equals. The common conviction of superiority amongst his equals was the first step to justify true horrors upon their “inferiors”, whether they are named wizards, druid, or the magically dull, and he promised that he would never stoop so low.

With a dry wheeze, the venerable portioner roses and took an agonizing step; no point in revising his notes if he had time dabble in pointless daydreams while doing so. After making his way across the room once more, he picks up the letter he set aside and, using his wand to amplify his frail voice, called for his owl. It flew over; a brilliant Snowy owl of the northwestern land over the sea, and to whom Salazar was entrusting with a letter to divide his legacy, both the material and the immaterial one. Then, with a small parting treat of tender duck, it flew off across the room and out the door. He was a bit saddened, that his owl will have brave through the wolf den that is his descendants after he is gone, maybe for good.

Shaking the morose thought off, the elderly patriarch walked to the center of his ritual circle. And once there he sat down, for the last time in this life, against the cold stone floor. In a slow methodical movement, he raised his hand and pressed his wand against his temple. And as he withdrew his wand, a silvery translucent substance seemingly flowed out. He deposed the fluid-like substance into a small indentation in the ritual circle. It was the essence of his mindscape, shaped for over a century by his formidable occlumency. The pensive fluid flowed throughout the ritual circle, following pre-carved paths through the stone floor. This will hopefully allow his memories to remain intact and reincarnate with his soul.

That done, he reached into his robe and took out the violet potion with a trembling hand. He opened the glass vial carefully and, while taking a last admiring gaze at the cumulation of fifteen years of research, wondered for the last time whether it would send him to a new journey or to end it. Then, with methodical care, he brought the vial to his lip and drank. The aged founder of Hogwarts then lied down, at last, on the cold hard floor, in his dimly lit laboratory.

With his last conscious thought, he wondered what his next view of the world would be.


	2. Chapter 2

Some 65 km west of London, was the town of Reading, in the county of Berkshire. If one ventures further southwest, they will reach a series of small lakes in a seemingly uninhabited location. And if one is gifted, he or she can then gaze pass the layers of concealment and notice-me-not wards, and upon the ancestral home of the house of Greengrass. Rebuilt primarily in the 15th century, the manor was a vast complex built in the Renaissance style, more reminiscent of the French or Italian manors of the same era than its English peers. Taking a closer look, one would have an opportunity to admire the tall columns and the richly engraved bas relief on the many arches lining the entrance to the manor and the walkway surrounding it. Once inside, however, the manor changes style, from the old fanciful renaissance decor into a more practical, Victorian, arrangement. If one then climbs the old curved redwood staircase on the right of the entrance and go all the way down the hall to the room on the right, they would find a small sleeping child on the bed. The child, no prize for guessing it right, was Daphne Greengrass.

She, however, did not know she was sleeping, as her mind was deep in dreams. She was in the middle of a small clearing. Right behind her was a forest, dark and filled with scary sounds. In front, was the remnant of a collapsed bridge leading to a dark castle hidden in the mist. She was scared. The shadows were moving, on the edges of her vision. She gripped herself tightly, too scared to move. The water flowing below sounded like the soft laughter of some feral creature. She tried to sit down, her eyes still looking around, chasing the moving shadows. A sensation of a soft tap on her shoulder made her heart jump to her throat. She screamed. She woke up.

As Daphne opened her eyes, she realized she was in her room. Sensing that she was awake, warm light came from the painted walls of her bedroom. Her little heart was still beating fast, and even the calming light wasn't enough to completely chase the moving shadows. With her small arm, she wiped away some of the tears that were coming out. She just started to sleep alone. She was big and old enough now. But now she really wanted her parents. So, she carefully got off the tall bed. She took her blanket, and she went up to the door. She opened it, and it opened with a scary squeaking sound. She stepped out of her room, and into the hallway lit only by skylights.

As she walked, the shadows seem to follow and move all around her. All along the wall, were paintings of severe-looking ancestors, eye closed, but still, she felt eyes on her back. There was no sound, but still, she could hear laughter and soft hisses. She ran, as fast as her little legs could take her. She fell, her knees scraped against the wooden floor and it hurt. The laughter seems to be right behind her and the shadow was consuming her vision. She couldn't take it. She cried, loudly, into the dark empty hallway.

A small popping sound startled her. She yelped

"What is young master doing out here? young master should be in bed!" said a voice. It was Leo, one of the family's house elf. With his right index finger, he lit up the hallway and chased all the shadows away. Daphne tried to stop her tears. She was trying to grow up, and growing up meant not crying

"Mscard", she answered, through all the sniffling and uncontrollable sobs.

"Oh don't be scared young master," said Leo with confidence, "not while Leo and the other protects this manor." With this, the house elf stood taller at attention. He looked somewhat like a parodical mimic of an Auror. It was funny, but still, she could quite not choke out the sob.

"Ohh" said Leo, seeing that her tears continued "Leo see. Is Young master is scared because of bad dream? Leo understands. Leo too was once a wee little elf." Then, the elf offered out his left hand to her, and said "come on young master, Leo will take young master to old lord and lady. Young master will sleep better there." With a little hesitation, she reached out and took Leo's hand. They walked. With his right hand, Leo continued to light up the hallway, keeping the shadows far away. Her heart slowly calmed itself. And she had mostly stopped crying and sniffling. They got to the door of the big bedroom. With a soft tap, Leo knocked on the door, before opening it. The door opened. Her mom, Lady Alicia Greengrass, cracked opened an eye.

"Daphne, dear, what's wrong?"

The young Greengrass, now composed enough to talk, responded "I had a bad dream, mom"

Wordlessly, her mother waved her closer and picked her up. Her mom then placed her in the middle of the bed, right next to her father and her three-year-old sister. Then, her mother said

"Now go to sleep. We are all here, there is nothing to be afraid of."

Daphne nodded in silent agreement and covered herself with her blanket. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she soon fell back to sleep.

* * *

Lord Jacob Antonius Greengrass was deeply troubled. It was not because he was lacking sleep, though that is also a factor. It was not because the self-styled marginalised wizards league was making a play on the rights of the lords, though that also did not help.

No, of all things, lord Jacob was troubled by dreams. his daughter's dream, to be precise.

Had he been an outsider looking at current events, he might have had a few chuckles at the ridiculous situation he finds himself, but he wasn't so lucky. Daphne's nightmare has been reoccurring for two weeks. It has proven itself remarkably immune to the effect of his potion of dreamless sleep and its consistency; with the dark misty castle always appearing under various angles, lead him to believe that it is either a vision or the result of a magical curse.

Daphne tugged at the sleeves of his robe, bringing his attention to her. He turned around

"I'm ready, father."

He took a good look at his daughter. The glamour cast upon her by the house elves could almost cover the black bags marring her visage. It, however, could not cover up the exhaustion that was apparent in her eye. She looked ten years older. The tired expressions did not belong on his daughter's face.

Jacob reached out, and gently grasped his daughter's hand.

"How are you feeling? Will you be ok, going to see the healer today?"

She looked up at him, her eyes dull.

"no, but if this will let me be not tired, I'll be ok."

He nodded, he couldn't really expect much more. Lord Jacob then turned toward the fireplace and threw a pinch of floo powder into the flame. Keeping a firm grip on his young daughter's hand, he called out

"St-Mungo hospital, Chamber of the Honorable Peerage"

Lord Greengrass then walked through the fireplace and emerged in the private chamber reserved for the hereditary lords of the Wizengamot. Its name is a mouthful, but it did prevent others from accessing the room accidentally and it gave a much faster service.

The chamber was small, but richly decorated, funded by centuries of donations from the hereditary lords. Lord Jacob looked around, and, seeing no one, moved to take a seat on the velvet sofa with his daughter. The enchantment on the fireplace should have warned the hospital of their arrival, and so they only needed to wait. And, sure enough, before he could even set his daughter down on the couch, a healer opened the oak door connecting the chamber to the rest of the hospital.

"Good morning, Lord Greengrass, I am healer Valery, how can St-Mungo be of service today?" Said a youthful and chirpy voice.

"Morning, healer Valery" answered Jacob, "I came today for my daughter." At this, he gestured towards Daphne, who was hiding in his robe. "She has been having reoccurring nightmares of a strange castle for about two weeks, and she hasn't had a good night of sleep since. I have tried administering Potions of dreamless sleep, but their effect has been minimal. I would like for St-Mungo to check why this nightmare is so persistent and see what you can do to help getting rid of it."

The healer's brow furrowed. Jacob's heart sank slightly. She didn't look like she recognized the symptoms. The odds that this situation could be resolved simply was falling lower.

"I see" responded the healer, "We certainly can run magical tests, I'll bring her to the mind healers and see what they can do."

She then turned her attention to Daphne, who was clinging to Jacob's leg, and in a gentle, healer's voice said.

"So, you've been having bad dreams, little one? Come here, little lady, let me bring you to gran Pompy, she will make your bad dreams go away."

Daphne looked at Jacob, who nodded, she then let go of his father and walked out the chamber in front of Valery, who directed her to another healer.

Valery turned back towards Lord Jacob, who spoke first:

"Bring the case to healer William as well and tell him I wish for a most _thorough_ checkup of my daughter."

She nodded and did not ask further questions. She seemed to have been informed that healer William handled the delicate cases of his family and knew better than to ask too much.

"How much time do you believe that this will take?"

"It is hard to say, Lord Greengrass. We might find a cause with the first test, we might find it only on the seventh. I would say to come back in the afternoon, and if we find a cause earlier, we will inform your house by floo."

"Perfect, I will be back in a few hours then."

The healer understood the dismissal, and curtsied, before leaving Lord Jacob alone in the chamber.

Jacob took one last look at the door, where his daughter just left, sighed, and went back before the fireplace. No matter his feelings, he still had business to attend to. With that, Lord Jacob threw a pinch of floo powder into the fireplace, and called out "Ministry of Magic", before passing through the flame.

* * *

Lord Jacob Greengrass could not focus during the daily meeting of the Wizengamot. He had never been the best at politic; his thought was too prone to wander for it and he only entered it under family pressure. But today, he had his thoughts constantly occupied by his daughter's malaise. More specifically, he had a three-word sickness now that constantly returned to haunt his thoughts: The Blood Curse.

It only manifested sporadically in the family. Daphne's sudden nightmares is not a usual sign of the sickness, but the curse had shown itself to be capable of change in the past, and if it was manifesting in his precious Daphne as well…

He felt his insides twist.

It was why he was back here so early, in St-Mungo hospital for magical illnesses. His hands, unable to stay still, was summoning newspaper and charming them to fold into paper airplanes to alleviate the deep anxiety in him. It was a very effective distraction, as he did not even realize someone walked in behind him until he heard a soft, embarrassed cough. He turned around and felt a slight flush rising from his neck upon seeing the healer. With a small wave of the wand, all the paper unfolded and reordered themselves on the table. He returned his attention to the healer and, with as much dignity as he could muster in such a situation, asked: "So, how is my daughter?"

The healer, thank Merlin for her professionalism, recovered quickly from her embarrassment and opened her notes. Then, she started

"She is as well as she can be, Lord Greengrass. We have conducted every single test that came to mind to check for foreign magic and curses and have so far found none. We can, with your permission, add a simple detecting charm, as perhaps it is foreign magic that only manifests itself at a specified time, which would be impossible for us to detect now. However, we have found an… anomaly that might explain the dreams"

At this point, she paused, turned the page, and restarted.

"During our preliminary legilimency prob, we have found that your daughter seems to have a fully developed mindscape, one complete enough to intimidate even our most gifted mind healers. There is no one currently in our employ that could penetrate deeply enough in the mindscape to find its source, or to find an explanation for its unprecedented presence."

Lord Jacob didn't know how to respond. Whatever he was expecting, this wasn't it. Lacking a satisfying answer, his brain instead jumped to an automatic response.

"What… I mean, how? She's five!"

"I understand your confusion, my lord, but I'm afraid we cannot provide an answer to that. In fact, for this kind of unrecorded first-time occurrence of a magical phenomenon, we would most likely require…"

At this point, Jacob saw where the healer was leading the discussion, and he interrupted

"…intervention by the Unspeakable, I suppose. I am however quite unwilling to do so. I will not have my daughter be raised in a sterile environment to be studied as a simple mystery."

"That may be the case, lord Greengrass, but we have to report this case to the Department of Mystery, as required by law."

"And you may do so, far be it for me to intervene in the good functioning of the law. I am merely stating my preference" Jacob answered smoothly. He wasn't too worried, the unspeakable could not intervene directly in matters concerning the family of the Peerage. He could hold them off. "could I see my daughter then" he continued.

"Of course, Lord Greengrass. Before you go, however, there is the matter of the tracking charm. Would you give permission for us to cast such a spell on your daughter to keep track of the situation?"

He thought a bit about it, then nodded. There was little harm in letting them track the situation, maybe they can find another cause for the presence of the mindscape.

The healer then curtsied and walked out of the room. Before long, she returned with his daughter, then curtsied before leaving.

He looked at Daphne, and she returned an apprehensive look. Suddenly, she spoke

"am I in trouble?"

His eyebrows rose, startled

"No, why? What brought that up?"

"The healer looked at me strangely after he looked in my mind. And now you're looking and feeling strange."

His eyebrow rose even higher. Her daughter might not have the right words to describe her feeling, but he had schooled his neutral resting face in the political turmoil during the first British wizarding war, and he knew for a fact that healers are trained to keep a bad diagnostic off their face. That his daughter even noticed something off was quite impressive.

He adopted his most soothing and calming voice and said

"You are not in trouble. Why would we be mad at you? We are just worried about your dreams. It might be nothing, but it might be a sign of bad things."

At that, Daphne looked down, and nodded, her expression still very much sullen. The sight twisted his heart. He reached out with his hand, clasped his daughter's shoulder, and brought her into a half hug.

"Don't look so sad, my little marquise. Come on, let's go home and find mom. Maybe she'll have Leo cook up some Turkish delights for you."

She looked back up, and while the apprehension could still be seen in her eye, she was at least smiling again.

And that would have to be enough.

* * *

That night, Lord Greengrass found himself in his study, reading a private owled message from healer William. Written on a short piece of paper in a discrete enchanted ink, was a short message:

"No sign of the Blood Curse"

Jacob sighed, partially in relieve, partially in concern. On one hand, he was glad that the blood curse was absent in his firstborn. On the other hand, her dreams remained a mystery, one that would most likely require the expertise of the Department of Mystery, and he much rather not let those dehumanized servants of the ministry get their hands on his daughter.

Nevertheless, he couldn't just sit idle while his daughter suffers either. He picked up his plume and a thick piece of paper and began to write. It began with:

"To the illustrious professor Severus Snape, Hogwarts, I am in need of your expertise in occlumency."

* * *

While her father was having his inner debate down in his studies, Daphne, once again, found herself before the castle. Surprisingly, she realized that she was in a dream this time. That was a first for her.

Absently, she wondered why she couldn't realize she was in a dream on the other days.

Before her, where once a collapsed bridge stood, was instead a beautiful stone bridge covered by wooden arches. In front of the bridge, was red and black striped snake looking intensely at her.

That too was a first.

She looked around, the shadows seemed lighter, and the mist sunk lower, leaving the old castle in plain sight for the first time. And illuminated by the soft light of the moon, it seemed to be a peaceful place.

The snake was still looking at her.

She told herself that she was brave and walked towards it.

As Daphne got closer, the snake turned around towards the bridge and hissed "follow me". To her surprise, she understood. She stopped and wondered for a second whether if she could actually talk to snakes or was she dreaming delusions.

The snake did not give her much time to ponder, however, as it quickly slithered down and on to the covered bridge. It broke Daphne out of her stupor, and she ran after it. While she was pretty sure her mother always said to not follow strangers, she thought that a talking snake in her dream was simply too awesome to not follow.

"Wait missster snake, where are we going!" called out Daphne, convinced that the snake could understand her.

The snake did not respond, however, and continued to slither across the bridge. She soon followed.

They emerged on the other side of the river, at the foot of the stone castle. Daphne halted and huffed in exhaustion. She looked around, searching for the snake, but it had seemingly disappeared without a trace.

"Do you need me to go slower, young lord speaker?"

Daphne jumped at the hiss and turned around. Behind her, at the edge of the bridge, was the snake. She looked at it and tried to respond. To her surprise, it came out as a soft hiss.

"Yes missster snake, you run too fast"

"A snake doesn't run, young speaker, it slithers" responded calmly the snake.

Daphne was a bit annoyed at the correction. She didn't like being wrong.

"Ok missster snake, then you slither too fast." She hisses back, the aggressiveness goes seemingly unnoticed.

"Very well, I shall go slower then, for your sake." Answered the snake.

And so, the strange pair continued toward the castle. Once there, Daphne's eyes were drawn on the surroundings of the castle. They all looked greyish and appeared unreal. Daphne wondered why that was for a second.

The two arrived in front of great wooden doors, which opened softly at their arrival. Behind it was a hall, with rows upon rows of tables illuminated by thousands of floating candles and a ceiling that seemed to almost touch the sky. Daphne, who had never yet seen such a grand sight, could only stand there, mouth agape in awe and amazement.

"Please, lord speaker, do not get distracted, there is somewhere we have to be."

Daphne, still overwhelmed by a sensation of amazement, nodded distractedly.

And so, the pair crossed the Great Hall, through wooden doors and a stairway of stone, before finding themselves before a richly decorated office.

Whoever lives here must really like green, Daphne thought, Hihi, this looks like home, like GREENgrass manor.

The snake, meanwhile, was unaware of the childish thoughts of the girl next to him and slithered before a bookcase. Once there, he turned back to Daphne and spoke

"My lord speaker, you must now open the entrance, call upon the sentinel and order it to open."

"What? Order who?"

"the sentinel"

"Who's the sentinel?"

"The snake before me."

"I don't see a snake?"

The snake hissed again, and to Daphne, it sounded like a deep sigh of exasperation.

"the bookcase. Hiss open at the bookcase"

Daphne advanced and looked at the bookcase suspiciously; it didn't look like anything special, and she didn't want to look like a dumb girl and hissing at an inanimate bookcase.

"… are you sure missster snake?"

"do I… yes, I am serious", responds the snake

Daphne returned her focus on the bookcase, and with a little bit of hesitation, hissed:

"open"

At first, it seemed like nothing changed. But as Daphne was turning back towards the snake to express her dissatisfaction, a slight movement on the tap caught her attention. It was a small sculpted snake in bas-relief, moving up and down the wooden frame.

And with the sound of grinding stones, the bookcase and the wall behind shifted, and left a gaping hole leading to a dimly lit passage. Well, more of a slide than a passage, though Daphne. She turned toward the snake, only to see that it had gone way ahead of her.

"Follow me, Lord Speaker", the snake said.

Before she even got a chance to respond, the snake disappeared down the dark passage. Without thinking, her legs carried her forward and she jumped down the slide to follow the snake.

Her brain soon caught up though and realized that she was in absolute darkness. She screamed in terror and felt tears rising in her eyes.

To her surprise, the stone walls surrounding the slide glowed, seemingly in response to her cries. The soft silvery light reminded her of that emitted by her bedroom walls, and it chased away her fears.

_Did the wall glow because I wanted it to glow?_ Wondered Daphne.

But she did not have the time to pursue her line of thought, as soon the slide evened out, and she fell on a stack of pillows at the end.

Why are there pillows on the ground? Questioned Daphne. Then again, a lot of what she saw tonight has seemed unreal, maybe it is because it's a dream?

She untangled herself from the pillow pile and rose. Once she oriented herself, she looked around in the dark chamber, searching for mister snake. He soon slithered out, from underneath the pillow pile. Daphne sigh in relief; for a second, she was worried she might have crushed her talking snake friend. She was glad she was wrong.

"Come on Lord Speaker, we are arriving soon"

She nodded and started walking behind the snake. She came so far, and she was curious at where this strange dream would lead her. Who knows, maybe this would even lead to an end to her nightmares.

As she walked down the stone hallway, illuminated by yellow glowstones embedded into the walls, she felt a strange sense of … familiarity… with her surrounding. Not recognition, because she is pretty sure she has never been here, but, … familiarity…

The young dreamer and her companion soon reached the end of the passage and came to a stop upon an open round chamber. Daphne's eyes were immediately drawn toward the center of the room, where a silvery light zig-zagged in an orderly pattern across the stone floor. Upon closer inspection, Daphne realized that it wasn't simply a light; it was a fluid, that flowed across small indentations in the floor.

The girl turned towards her companion, brows furrowed in confusion.

"What is this?" She asked.

"We are in your mind, lord speaker. I'm sure you can answer that yourself"

Daphne's brows furrowed further, this time in frustration. She moved closer to the glowing fluid. It did not give her anymore idea on what to do

"Useless snake" she muttered underneath her breath.

The snake made a strange, high pitched noise. It sounded like a laugh to Daphne.

"Try going to the center of the chamber and sit down there. I'm sure it will all come back to you."

It did not make much sense to Daphne. But then again, not much of her dream has made much sense so far. She rose and walked towards the center of the chamber. Once there, she did as she was told, and sat down.

Immediately, the liquid surrounding her glowed with greater intensity, and she was overwhelmed by intrusive thoughts and flashbacks. The weight was too much on her developing brain, and she immediately felt faint.

She saw through eyes that felt like were hers but that showed scenes that were entirely alien. She saw images of white-robed men's in Moorish walkways surrounded by temperate hills, speaking a musical foreign language that she did never heard but somehow understood. The images jumped, to dark rainy woodlands, with nothing but forest in sight. She felt anger, sadness, determination, at events she did not understand but somehow experienced, for reasons unknown. And this continued, for what felt like centuries to the girl, but only truly lasted a few seconds, before it came to an end.

The glow of the liquid slowly subsided, and it became dull grey in color. The young Greengrass, sitting cross-legged a few short seconds ago, laid haphazardly on the ground, her body unable to keep itself upright while her brain tried and failed to assimilate all the new information. Her mouth was opened wide, gulping in air to try to feed her overwhelmed mind.

Absently, she noted the new appearance of three new individuals in the periphery of her vision.

"Finally! Arawn's sword, that took forever!" Said the voice of a man, appearing as nothing more than a blob of red and gold to the girl's rapidly blurring vision.

"Stop your whining, Godric, you're ruining the moment." Responded another, feminine voice.

"Guys!" called out the third, "I think Sal isn't looking too…"

Daphne didn't get to hear the end of the sentence, as her consciousness went dark.

* * *

Lord Greengrass was just starting his day in the manor's private secondary dining room, with a cup of green tea in his left hand and the daily prophet in his right, when Leo popped in a panicked state.

"Lord Greengrass, little lady Daphne hasn't woken up!"

His brows furrowed; that didn't sound too bad, Daphne was lacking sleep for over a week now."

"Then wake her up, what is the issue?"

"No, no, Lord Jacob Lord. Leo meant that little lady could not be woken up"

Jacob felt his heart skip a beat and his blood freeze.


	3. Chapter 3

When Daphne came back to herself, it was to the feeling of somebody poking at her with a stick.

"Godric, I swear to God, if you keep on being such a nuisance, I will end your existence."

The exasperated feminine voice tugged at Daphne's memories. It invoked scenes of days spent arguing over curriculums, and nights spent debating over the fundamentals of magic.

"Rowena?"

The young girl's vision came to focus on a woman of regal posture, dressed in the finest sapphire blue, in front of her on one knee.

"Oh, by the grace, you're finally awake"

"Ha, you see, I was helping!"

The second voice, that of a man tinted by a distinct Cornish accent, evoked images of a prince with fiery red hair and the courage of boiling blood to match.

_Godric, it's Godric._

she closed her eyes again and brought her left hand up to massage her pounding head. At each heartbeat, it felt like her head was pushing and trying to break out of her skull.

"Stay with us, Salazar, we can't do much more on our own." Murmured a third voice softly.

Daphne felt a warm pair of hands grasping her own and felt a soothing warmth course through her. It dulled the pain and gave her focus. Slowly, she opened her eyes and stared into the brown iris of Helga Hufflepuff. Then, a strange understanding of her situation formed in the mind of the reincarnate.

"Please, Helga, call me Daphne. My mind is confused enough as it is, I don't need it to be dissociating at the same time."

The worry in Helga's eyes morphed into a mix of concern and understanding. She nodded.

"Of course, Daphne, whatever helps you most."

Said child raised her head and looked around. The surrounding had changed, there were bookshelves lining the walls and fine Persian rugs decorated the ground, giving the room a cozy feeling. Daphne herself was sitting in a small comfortable couch, instead of laying on stone-cold flooring, which was certainly also a plus.

Still, it`s a bit too dark in here. Let's add some light.

In response to her thoughts, flower stems grew out of the wooden bookshelves and blossomed with emerald petals. The crystals grew and glowed a deep calming light.

_So, this is still my mindscape. Pretty fortunate that my occlumency is already good enough to enact mindscaping._

In the corner of her vision, Godric looks on in apprehension.

"I know we've discussed this, but the way you exert your control in your mindscape still creeps me out." Said Godric. Had he not been born with nerves of steel, he might have shivered at the omnipotence his old friend wielded here.

"This control is how I can still create mental projections of you, and how you can still exist, Godric." Answered Daphne, eyebrow questioning.

"And I understand that, but it still feels…creepy."

As Godric spoke, Daphne's thoughts drifted once more, back to the creation of the three mental images of the founders, and entrusting them with the mission of guarding her memories. Good grief, has it really been a millennial since he last exhaled in his workshop?

_Well, no, we were breathing yesterday too._

Her hands came up once more to massage her head. To call her current pain a simple headache would be an understatement. He had endured Crucio curses that were less painful than her current headache.

There was no way they could function like this. Her biologically infant body, and existing thought patterns would not and is not enduring the mindscape of her previous life imposing itself with its century of memories and structured thoughts.

The young reincarnate could sense the concern radiating off her fellow founders. As such, she reached out and grabbed the hand of the nearest of her friends.

"Helga, Rowena, Godric." Daphne hisses through the pain, "I need you to close down all the pathways of the mindscape, excepts for those relevant to occlumency, reincarnation, and basic memory recall."

She sensed their silent nods and agreement, and one by one, they left the room, to fulfill her requests.

Slowly, as time passed in her mind, she felt it; memories sealed off, thought ways closed, things that she knew but now can't recall. And, as more and more weights are removed from her mind, her headache gradually dulls, then disappears.

Daphne sighed in relief. Then, for the first time since her rebirth, she taped into the still unsealed parts of the knowledge her previous life accumulated.

Part of her thought with juvenile glee _My goodness, this is amazing_ , while another part of her, the centenary elder part, was thinking, _Good, it seems everything is still in order._

Her friends' voices in the hallway broke her concentration.

"I'm telling you Rowena, better that we discuss this problem with Salazar now, rather than waiting till it gets out of our control." Said Godric, intentionally raising his voice to be heard by Daphne in the distance.

"You are insufferable." sighed Rowena, fuming at Godric's tricks.

Godric laughed, a deep, jovial laugh that echoed throughout the hallway. Mixed in the sound, there was also a soft giggle, one almost too discreet to be heard by Daphne.

"But I do agree with Godric," adds Helga "Daphne needs as much time as she can get to solve this issue."

By now, the sound of their voice was right by the entrance of Daphne's room, and she was thoroughly intrigued by the discussion her friends had. She lifted herself up on the couch and centered herself, preparing for them to enter.

But the first one that entered the room was not any of her fellow founders. It was instead her serpentine companion and former teacher. A smile came upon her face, and she consciously suppressed an infantile desire to call him "mister snake" as she did during their dream excursion.

"Basssilio" Daphne squeal "it's so good to see you!"

"Likewise, lady Daphne" responds her companion, "It hasss been quite a while, and you have changed so much."

She chuckled, though it came out more like a giggle, and responded.

"And you haven't changed a bit, Basssilio!"

Basilio's words were an understatement if anything. At a glance, there wasn't much she had that was in common with her previous life, which was a millennial ago. At this thought, the young girl indulged in a bit of nostalgia, recalling the time when she first met Basilio. It must have been one of his first class in Care for Magical Creatures, in the House of Magic of the great city of Cordoba. he was a White Viper, originating from the far eastern island of Sumatra, and is a species known for its magical scales and highly impressive intelligence. He had been brought over distant lands by Moorish traders, all the way to the Iberian Peninsula, before being used in Salazar's class. The magical viper had been, in many ways, Salazar's parseltongue teacher, and one of his closest friends in the earlier days of his life, spreading mischief when needed, and giving advice when solicited.

At this point, the three others had long since entered the room and were impatiently waiting for Daphne to come out of her reveries. Had she had some more normal friend, they might have perhaps tried coughing lightly to draw out her attention.

But they weren't, so after a few mischievous glances were exchanged Daphne got sprayed by three jets of icy water instead.

The little girl gasped and yelped at the unpleasant and surprising sensation of frosty cold fluid on her skin, and raised her arms to protect her face. Fortunately for her, the cry of her infantile voice seemed to have instantly guilted the three adults to stop.

Through gaps in her fingers, she glared daggers at her mental projections, who all had a varying degree of shame on their face. Then, pushing with a slight thought and magic, the water all over her disappeared. And, with a single inspiration, she banished the feeling of irritation; after all, her companions were justified in feeling slightly annoyed, as she has been quite a bit more scatterbrained than she should be. Her expression relaxed, and her breathing evened out.

"Sorry, I was lost in my thought." Apologised Daphne, "My current mind is not quite as capable of focus as my older one was."

"But there are more important matters to discuss" She continued, "such as what were you three babbling about outside that Rowena seemed to think I'm not physically fit to hear?"

Upon hearing these words, Rowena turned her eye towards Godric, glaring. However, this only triggered snickering and giggling among her fellow founders. Then, seeing that none of the others were going to explain, she started:

"Yes, I can explain. You see, Daphne, initially, we were trying to achieve a less… heavy-handed merger of your mindscape with your current body, starting from your fifth birthday. This was interrupted … well, sometimes ago, I don't know exactly how long, by a series of successive legilimency probes by at least three different individuals. Naturally, none of them got much progress before being halted by occlument traps. But the probes had shaken us, and we attempted to accelerate the merger, which led us to where we are now." At this, Rowena stopped and turned toward Daphne with an inquisitive stare.

"We here in the mindscape have little to no information on what is happening in the outside world. And so, I must ask, was there someone, or a group of people, that may have employed legilimacy probes against you?"

Her visit to the healer immediately came to the front of her mind, and she could not stop a frown from forming.

"Yes, there was. In fact, I even know who they are" said Daphne, "My father, Jacob Greengrass that is, brought me earlier today to see the healers at St-Mungo, a new hospital in Britain, in hopes of putting an end to my nightly nightmares. I'm sure now, that I underwent legilimacy probes by three different mind healers, as part of their attempts to discover the source of the nightmares."

As Daphne spoke, part of her attention was focused on rearranging events in lights of what she knew now. Her nightmares must have been due to an attempt by her mindscape to acclimatise her current body to its presence. However, the trip to the healer had her mental projections worried, and they tried a more direct and heavy-handed method, which nearly crippled her infant mind.

At her words, Rowena relaxed a bit, "That's… better than what we were expecting, in some ways."

"But depending on how the sorcerers of today react" interrupts Godric, "also possibly so much worst."

Daphne and the others turned toward the founder of Gryffindor with questioning stares.

"We should remind ourselves that Daphne's current body is only five at the moment" continued Godric, "and already there is three different witnesses toward the fact that this five-year-old has a fully developed mindscape, one capable of repealing adult mind healers, who, presumably, are all highly skilled legilimens. This is not the kind of usual magical aberrance that is simply glossed over, and it will attract attention, unwanted ones."

The room fell silent, as the others digested Godric's words. Finally, Helga spoke up.

"While I agree with Godric, I believe that we lack the necessary information to judge the state of the current wizarding Britain, and how it would react to Daphne's current state. I say let her wake up and take an assessment first, before deciding on the best route of action."

"I can see the logic in your argument, Helga," responds Godric, "but unless magic has turned all human into sheep, we are naturally curious, and we naturally fear the unknown, especially those of us practicing wizardry. This combination of characteristics will inevitably lead to unwanted attention. Better we take precautions now, rather than later when others get a bit too nosy about Daphne's origins."

Said young Greengrass, having collected her thoughts about the situation, waited until Godric was done, before speaking.

"I concur. There will more likely than not be repercussions for this, and I would much rather not have to explain why I have a mindscape before the Wizengamot. As such, I believe it would be best if you four seal off the mindscape from me for now, to avoid further legilimency probes stumbling into what they shouldn't see. Keep me aware of only the basics, and I will warn you all with a specific thought before any legilimacy probes by officials. Sealing thought will be Godric's first words upon first seeing Hogwarts, and reactivation thought will be Daphne's memories of holding her sister for the first time."

The youngest member in the room then took a look at each of her friends, to judge their reaction.

"Any objections? If there are, better to bring them to the table now."

Rowena had a somewhat apprehensive look, she started "I do admit that this would be the safer choice, but are you certain that you want to further delay accessing the mindscape?"

At this, Daphne could not help but snicker a bit. Rowena could never quite refuse knowledge, and could never understand why peoples could willingly live ignorantly.

"Rowena, I'm five! I don't exactly need the knowledge and wisdom of a centennial old wizard to be a five-year-old." Exclaimed Daphne with a smile on her face.

"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt." Godric chipped in with mirth in his eye. "I've always wanted to see a five-year-old that can make a dark wizard flee in fear for his life with nothing but flying squirrels."

Daphne immediately recalled which event Godric was referencing and could not help but laugh at the images Godric's words invoked. The others, who were also present in said event, chuckled along.

The moment passed, and Rowena dragged the discussion back to the matter at hand.

"Yes, the knowledge is generally not very useful, I agree. But we can never predict when it might become useful, and by then it would be too late."

Daphne considered her worries for a bit, then responded.

"I understand, but I do not see it as worth the risk of discovery. Besides, I do have a loving and politically connected family here. I do not see that changing anytime soon. We can accelerate the merger after my father gets whatever group with interest in me to back off."

Rowena still looked apprehensive, but as Daphne looked at her with a questioning expression, she nodded in agreement.

"Then it is settled," proclaimed Daphne, "you will seal off most of the remaining pathways of the mindscape and be on call for when I need it to be completely sealed off. Keep only the bare minimum accessible from the outside."

"I'll be going now, I don't know how long I've spent here, but I am fairly sure it has been a day at least, and my father must be panicking.

With that, Daphne surveyed the expressions of her friends one last time, who all returned understanding and firm regards. Satisfied, the young Greengrass closed her eyes and prepared to leave.

"Be quicker thisss time," hissed Basilio, who had remained silent up until now "don't go and take another millennium, I'm getting too old here."

His comments brought a big smile to Daphne's face. She was going to miss him in the next few days.

"Of course, I'll be back before you know it." Responds Daphne.

Then, her parting words said, she focused, with the intent of leaving her mindscape, and felt that all too familiar pull by her neck.

Daphne opened her eyes to see nothing but pitch darkness. For a second, she has difficulty recognizing where she was. As she looked around confused, the walls glowed a warm white light, illuminating her surroundings.

She was back in her bedroom, with the curtains drawn. Around her were about a dozen monitoring crystals, keeping track of her various vitals and consciousness level. At least, that's what she thinks they are; her knowledge on what exactly these crystals do slipped her mind.

Daphne looked around a bit, and hoisted herself into a sitting position, back against the headboard of her bed. She raised her right hand before her eye and opened and closed it for a while. There was a strange feeling, like the small hand in front of her wasn`t hers. She took note of that, so that she may later correct this feeling of dissociation, once she felt safe enough to do so.

Once she situated herself, both physically and mentally, she raised her voice and tried calling for the Greengrass house-elves.

"Leo!"

Almost immediately, a soft pop was heard, and Leo appeared in front of her bed.

"Oh, young lady is finally awake!" exclaims the house-elf, "Young lady scared Leo. Leo was so scared for young lady when young lady wouldn't wake up. Is young lady ok now? Does young master need anything?"

Daphne smiled what she hoped was a comforting smile to Leo. She felt bad at being the source of the elf's distress and didn't want to worry him any further.

"Yes, I feel a lot better now, Leo. Thanks for asking. Can you get my parents? And maybe also a glass of water?"

"Yes, of course!" nodded Leo excitedly, "Leo will go do that now, Leo will also get healer Will sir!"

And before Daphne has the time to get a word in, Leo popped away.

_I guess Dad got me a healer on standby in the house then_ , Thought Daphne, _I don't suppose it is a legilimens…_

She sighs at the thought; she had just woken up, and she had hoped that she would get a bit of time to reorient herself and rest a bit before having to deal with state agencies wanting to study her.

Another pop by her bedside catches her attention. It was Leo, with a glass of ice-cold water.

"Here, is young master comfortable sitting? Old master and healer sir are coming soon. Would young master like more pillows?" asked Leo, worry still clear on his face.

No, thank you, Daphne thought, but she felt guilty at the idea of refusing Leo, who only wanted to help, so instead, she said with a smile,

"I could do with an extra pillow for my back."

Leo smiled back, and responded, "of course, young master, Leo will go get the fluffiest of pillow right now!"

And with a pop, he was gone again.

And barely a second later, he was back, with a large fluffy pillow in a deep red velvet casing.

Daphne blinked in surprise.

"That was fast…"

Leo smirked, Daphne doesn't think she ever saw such an expression on a house-elf before.

"A good house-elf is always ready for any request" responds Leo.

He waved his right hand, levitating the pillow and placing it behind her back. As Daphne laid back down on the pillow, she had to admit, it was really comfy and fluffy.

"This is very comfortable, thank you Leo."

"Glad to be of service, young master!" responds the house elf, "Leo will be returning to work now, young master can call Leo if young master needs anything!"

And with that, Leo popped away, leaving Daphne alone in her bedroom once more. She didn't know how much time it would take for the adults to arrive, and her young mind was already getting bored from the emptiness surrounding her. She picked up the glass of water Leo left by the bed, took a drink, and waited.

And waited…

Her eyes were caught by the books arranged in the bookshelves at the far end of the room. If she could get there, it could help pass the time. But she was comfortable where she was… Impulsively, she raised her right hand and tried to wandlessly summon one of the books. But, while she did remember that it was something she could do, the exact knowledge of how to wandlessly summon slipped her mind.

_God, what I wouldn't give to know what I use to know. Rowena would be so smug right now_. Thought Daphne, partly in amusement, partly in frustration.

Though on second thought, it was probably for the best that she didn`t actually summon a book. She would wager her favorite blanket that there is a memory crystal among those above her bed right now. And if it had observed and remembered a book flying into her hand when she raised it, it would be quite hard to convince the healer that she didn`t in fact perform wandless magic.

Her bedroom door was suddenly opened, and entered an unfamiliar man, in the light green robe commonly worn by St-Mungo healers.

"Good afternoon, Miss Greengrass. I am Healer William, from St-Mungo. How are you feeling right now?"

"Awake." Answered Daphne.

The healer chuckled and moved by her bedside. With his wand, he started tapping at the crystals. As the healer`s wand made contact with the first crystal, the latter glowed in soft sapphire blue light. It was showing her life vital and monitoring her situation, Daphne supposed.

"Could you open the curtains, mister healer?" asked Daphne

"Oh, of course" responded William, who pointed his wand at the black curtains and murmured a spell. A grey light flashed, drew the curtain wide open and led the rays of the afternoon sun illuminate every corner of her bedroom.

Daphne squinted, her eyes adjusting to the bright new light source. She didn't have a sense of the time while in the dark, though she had a feeling by Leo's distressed state that she had been out for quite a while. The afternoon light at least gave her a sense of the time of the day.

"Is it better now?" asked the healer.

"Yes, much better, thank you." Responded the young Greengrass, before adding, "do you know where my parents are, Mr. Healer?"

"Of course," answered Healer William, "Lord Greengrass is at the Ministry in London, and Lady Greengrass is off managing your family's estate in Hampshire. They have both been informed by your family house-elf that you have woken up, and I suspect are on their way as we speak."

While he was talking, he continued tapping the crystals surrounding Daphne, and observing the different glowing colors that came out of it. A small smile was on his lips, perhaps a sign that what he observed was good.

"Any pain, or physical discomfort, Miss Greengrass?" asked the healer.

"No, nothing of the sort."

Healer William nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. He took a look at the last crystal, which shone in a brilliant golden light. He then rose and put his wand aside. He opened his mouth to speak but he was soon distracted by the sound of someone quickly walking down the hallway.

The door opened again, and Alicia Greengrass entered with urgency. Her eyes crossed those of Daphne, and she closed in to bring Daphne into a tight hug.

The child Greengrass heard a muffled sob from her mother and saw the glint of sunlight off her tears. It twisted her inside, and she could not help but feel remorse at her past actions that lead to this.

How long has she been out? How long has her mother been agonizing over her?

Alicia soon calmed down and turned her attention towards the healer standing on the sideline.

"I apologize for my rashness, Healer William."

"There is nothing to apologize for" the healer responded, "a mother's love for her children is a wonderful thing to see."

"How's my daughter?" Asked Alicia.

"I would answer that now, but I think it would be wise to wait for your husband to arrive. It shouldn't be too long now."

Sure enough, Daphne could hear the sound of footsteps running down the hallway, and in flew Lord Jacob Greengrass. Still in his plum-coloured Wizengamot robes, Lord Jacob was breathing heavily from the exertion. As he saw his daughter sitting up on the bed, his shoulders relaxed, as if a weight had been removed from his back.

"How's my daughter?" Asked Jacob

Daphne giggled; her father and mother truly think alike.

Healer William smiled and responded

"She will be fine. Her vitals are good, her conscious level is stable, and there is no sign of outside magic or curses."

As he spoke, Daphne noticed the healer's body shift slightly towards the door and pointing in the same direction with his left elbow. They want to discuss something that they don`t want me to hear, she thought.

Her father noticed the body signs too and soon excused himself, leaving Daphne alone with her mother.

"Mom?" Daphne asked, "what's dad going to talk about with the healer?"

Her mother turned to look at her with inquisitive eyes. Then, after seemingly considering the question for a while, she answered.

"There are peoples, from the Ministry, who are interested in meeting you… Your father is discussing with healer William whether or not to let them see you."

Daphne heard a slight quiver of fear in her mother's voice and tried to push for more

"But, why not let them see me? Why refuse the Ministry?"

Her mother's eyes hardened, then softened, before settling in a conflicted expression.

"There are some good peoples at the Ministry," her mother states, "and there are some bad peoples at the Ministry. Your father thinks that those who want to see you are bad peoples."

Daphne considered what her mother said for a second. She was slightly frustrated by her mother's vocabulary, no doubt in an attempt to protect her childhood innocence, but she was trying to get a clear understanding of her situation. This was way too vague to help.

"What are these peoples called, mom? Why are they bad?" Daphne pushed on, hoping to get more information.

Her mother hesitated, Daphne looked at her with the most imploring yet innocent gaze she could manage, and her mother cracked.

"The peoples interested in you are the Unspeakable, of the Department of Mystery. As for why they are bad peoples… Well, your father thinks they might be trying to take you away."

Daphne gasped sharply and the child in her was gripped with fear.

Her mother quickly warped her arms around Daphne and brought her in a hug. She said:

"Don't worry Daphne, we won't let that happen."

Daphne instinctively hugged her back, and let her dread about a future unwanted meeting slowly melt away.

But higher up in her consciousness, she braced herself.


End file.
